Dear Family of Love and Pilgrims on Our Journey!
It was a nippy night on the trail! How nippy was it Sara? It was so nippy that I wanted to stop in at maybe one or two taverns or a wine bar for a nip. Not really I can promise you that will not be part of our prayer walking time. Right now in Santa Maria we have dropped to 50 degrees and I will be right back so that I can turn the heat on! As Goldie Hawn said in Laugh In "Don't go back we'll be right away!' I'm back! Did you miss me? I missed you! I did the Broadway loop tonight and it was a quiet Thursday evening. I sneaked up to the door of Shaw's Steakhouse to take a picture of the wreathe. I'm thinking of going there for a late dinner tomorrow. The smell of Santa Maria Style BBQ and the petite fillet mignon wafted through the air as did our Mexican restaurants. I took a few photos quite a few around Santa Maria High School where I attended from 1974 -1978. I couldn't believe that I had walked for 90 minutes! I feel good walking and have to curtail my mileage at night because I'll never stop! I guess I enjoy God's Cathedral of Life so much and feel so peaceful that it is hard to come in from the cold.
A few safety suggestions for every one to think about this season!
Be aware of your surroundings and don't get distracted !
Drive safely and take time to get to your destination. Watch the slick roads and keep your car the appropriate distance away from other vehicles.
Put down the phone, make up, and burger before you put your hands on the steering wheel. Think of this song!Put Down the Duckie ! Click on the link!
Get your car serviced and make sure that you are following all the maintenance services recommended by your car's manufacturer. I had my car smogged today and found out that I needed new belts! Don't ignore squeaks or strange sounds.
Have a list of emergency numbers in your phone and on your refrigerator. Also keep a list of all medications you take and your loved ones with you. Update it after every doctor visit.
Turn on that porch light!
Make sure your footwear are in good condition.
Watch your purses, wallets, murses (man purse), back packs, and briefcases !
Keep track of your credit cards! Target may only be the tip of the iceberg!
Lock the doors to your home, car, and if you are working alone at your office off hours.
Don't leave appliances running and check your chimney and dryer vents.
Plan your days accordingly. Keep an umbrella in your car or bag!
Don't wear a lot of bling to attract attention! As one of the characters Edward, I think, in "Upstairs Downstairs told Hazel, "No Diamonds in the Country!" I wear a little, but when I walk I leave it at home.
Make sure someone knows where you are and where you are going if it is in the evening.
These are it for now. Just know that I want you to be safe and that I love you! You are the best.
I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed night! I love you, you matter, and I feel so blessed to have you with me on our journey! May we continue our journey of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
Love and peace of mind and where are your car keys in case you need them?
Sara
Baby it's Cold Outside!
Come in from the Rain
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
O Radix Jesse
Dear Family of Love and Pilgrims on Our Journey,
Today I decided to go back in time and visit places that meant something to me as a child and now as a grown up. I'm not sure that many of you know about my learning disability and neurological deficits that I was born with. Some of you do and some of you may not. I was born with minimal brain dysfunction, small motor deficiencies, and dyslexia. If you look into my eyes you might see that one eye is slanted. When I was at Adam Elementary for kindergarten I told my teacher Mrs. Biddle that something was wrong and that my brain was going too fast for my coordination. I also had neurological glitches or stutters that made it difficult to learn. If my brain was going a million miles an hour or so it felt like it, it would blow fuses and and freeze up. I'm surprised that I was able to articulate my disability. Mrs. Biddle had me checked out by Dr. Botts the school psychologist and sure enough I had problems. That meant having Dr. Barry for my pediatrician who set me up for my first EEG and medication (Phenobarbital and Dilantin) I'm no longer on any of these. I also had Dr. Hal C. Purcell for my ophthalmologist and got my first baby blue framed glasses. Adam elementary didn't have the program I needed so off to Cook Street School I went. Cook School now has the new Fire Station but the old buildings are still there. I was in special ed for 3 years and 1 month. I conquered my disabilities and was mainstreamed directly into 4th grade and returned to my neighborhood school for 6th grade. During this time I learned what it meant to be bullied, beat up, and name called. I was called Retardo, Fag, Jap, and many others. That didn't stop for many years. I still have the feeling of being an outcast and on the margins occasionally. That's why I stand against bullying in its many forms.
Why am I telling you this? I decided that today I needed to visit Cook School and take pictures and make peace with a piece of my past and celebrate the good things that happened there. I wouldn't be the person I am without God and the wonderful and many people I have met along the way and that includes all of you. Cook School taught me one of the most valuable lessons that I learned later in community organizing - Push a Negative hard enough it will become a positive. I have done and am doing just that and so can you. Don't ever let anyone put you down or make you feel bad about yourself. Don't let all the bad garbage from the past infect your brain and play mind games on you! I'm a perfect example of moving beyond that. Although I still have blips on the radar and glitches of self-doubt. That changes everyday when I'm hearing that this blog is making a difference in your life.It is also making a difference in mine in ways that are beyond your and my imagination. l will tell a few more things about myself along the way but just know this, I celebrate today as a whole person born with unique gifts that make me a better person and sensitive to what is happening with you. I feel our love and our connection between us too. God is Good! All the Time! All the Time God is Good! So are you my dear family! I love you, I celebrate us as the awesome family that God has brought together, and I continue to give God thanks for you this day and always!
I did prayer walk tonight and carried all of you and your prayers in my heart as always! I never forget that this is what I am called to do every day and evening.
Love and peace of mind and grateful for us being the awesome family that God has brought together,
Sara
Novelty Songs and the Christmas song when I was at Cook Street School!
Merry Christmas Baby- Otis Redding 1967
Asuwang - Novelty song in 1966
Mah Na Mah Na
Dear Family of Love and pilgrims on our Journey!
I can't believe it! I walked the old traditional route tonight in honor and in thanksgiving of all that God has given me. We often make our prayers a lot of gimme gimme. We need to be praying and offering thanksgiving too. We really can't have one without the other. When a prayer is answered we must give thanks. We also should be thanking God in advance while we are praying. Manners are very important in our lives and some times those magic words of Please and Thank You get lost in prayer and in the praise. My dad has gotten into saying "I'll have...." instead of "please may I have" So let's mind our manners when we are in conversation with God and with each other. Simple manners and acts of kindness can go a very long way. We also need to be mindful of those who are singles of any stripe during this time of year and always. They should be on a list somewhere so that they can be asked to join in. This is a hard time of the year for us, who for some reason or other are not included or invited to parties. Extending yourself will not kill you!
Have you remembered to take care today? I hope you have. I'm keenly aware that all of us who are involved in ministry of on kind or another are always stressed out during this time of year and in the Holy Week and Easter season. We all need to be on our best health behavior. Here is a short body, mind, and spirit checklist:
Have you gone outside to enjoy God's Cathedral of life?
Have you unplugged and let silence be golden?
Are you watching your eating and drinking habits?
Are you getting exercise?
Don't forget to do an occasional crossword puzzle or something to enrich your mind!
When was the last time you have taken time for fun?
Is there some group offering a carol or Messiah Sing along? If there is, go!
Have you started a holiday memory book? Remember some of our older people may not be around forever and it's a good time to get their memories down. O how I wished I had done this with my mother/ Have a few people in your family become keepers of the lore!
Take time for you and you alone!
Make your own kind of spa day!
Dear brothers and guy pals of mine, take time to be with buddies, play sports, read, go to the barber and have a facial. Men have mani pedis too! I know a few of you like to go to clubs and listen to marvelous music. Go Fishing, take a walk or go for a run. Go golfing! It may be too late but become a Big Brother!
Light fragrant candles.
Go see a film, listen to music, take a drive!
If you are a single and unattached person like me, have your own date night! Just leave the blow up doll at home please.
I'm sure there are others, I know there are! You need to find the fun! You find the fun! and snap the fun's a game! (A little liberty on Just a Spoonful of Sugar!)
That should give you enough fodder for taking care of you! Remember when we fly on an airplane they tell us to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first and then help our children and others! If we don't start taking care of ourselves how will we be able to take care of others? Think about it!
Remember I love you, you matter, and I want you to take care of yourself! We all have to take care, as we continue our journey of Hope, Peace, Joy, to the Manger of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love in a week's time.
Love and peace of mind as I give thanks to God for you this day and always!
Sara
Today's Great O Antiphon:
O Sapientia - O Wisdom SSJE
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Hark the Glad Sound
Dear Family of Love and Pilgrims on our Journey!
I have been sensing a lot and I mean quite a lot of anxious worries and stress happening within our family and also in our larger cyber family too. It's time to stop and not get wound up and stressed out. God (Jesus) told us not to be! So don't get into this kind of trap, it only serves to hurt you and those around you. Sometimes anxiety can be worse for those who aren't able to fix, help, or understand what you or your loved one is going through. Susan Powter had a book and video called "Stop the Insanity!" I'm telling you (us) to do the same. "Stop the Insanity!" All this stuff gets one is a very tense body, a messed up and jumbled mind that may become seriously mono-focused, and a restless spirit. Not good if you are trying to find balance in your life and keep in check. With Christmas and those awful New Year's resolutions coming up one does not need to heap all the un-necessary garbage on top of one's life. I'm not and neither should you! Here are a few helpful suggestions that might be of help!
Do not be anxious! Jesus was very helpful and I don't know how he did that in his time and in ours, but he did and still does! That tells me that God isn't into anxiety either. We have a lot to learn.
Make a list of all the worries on sticky notes and if you have a fire pit offer each one to the fire and ask God to help you let each one of the worries go away from your body, mind, and spirit. After you do that make a list of positives that you can add to your life to replace the worry. I would wait awhile. Get used to the feeling of not having to dwell on these worries and anxieties.
Become physically active! I walk! It has become my anti- worry solution! It has also provided for me this avenue to pray, walk, and blog and have a very special relationship with you my dear family.
If all this anxiety and worry cannot be conquered by yourself ! GO GET HELP! Have a faith community? Try your local clergy. If you don't get along with them find a faith community that will match and where you will be able to feel that sense of belonging! If not, look for free counselling services. They have services for the LGBTQ community, AA or any of the Anons, hospitals often offer support groups, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Association and many more. Let your fingers do the walking. Hospice is a good place to start if you are looking for grief counselling.
Remember to make sure you are going to be with someone you trust and that their credentials are up to par.
Let us know if you are going through something! We do not want to be out of the loop and may be able to help and pray for you. I'm finding that social media can be a good place to ask for help but, here's my warning! DM- if you are using Twitter and PM/ Chat if you are using Facebook! Do not place anything that you want held in confidence in your posts. So be mindful. Remember there are so many cyber bullies, trolls, and haters out there seeking someone to devour..... !
Ok, that is enough of this topic! Hakuna Matata! Be not anxious! Fear Not for we are in the season of HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE. Let us practice these and be lights to those who may be anxious and fearful. Prayer and prayer walking is a good place to start! I loved being able to pray for you, your families, and all those whom you asked me to pray for tonight. I love you, You matter, and all of our family members matter to me as well.
A few prayers that might be of help to you and others! :)
If you are on Facebook I have more photos! Too many moon shots to show.
I hope all of you have an anxiety free evening! Just know that God holds each of you and all those who are anxious in the palm of God's hands! Just as the picture of the Moon tonight that looks like God is Holding the moon in God's hands!
I love you and may continue to walk and pray with hope, peace,joy, and love in every step as we approach the Manger where Jesus is Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love and where God became, God Incarnate, Man Divine.
Love and peace of mind,
Sara
P.S. I Give God thanks for you my dear family of love this day and always!
Music Sampler
He's Got the Whole World In His Hands
St. Teresa's Prayer
Ubi Caritas
Soothing Praise Music
